


Freedom and Belonging

by vision97



Category: Naruto
Genre: Coming Out, Coming of Age, F/F, F/M, Gen, Hawk Sage!Sasuke, Inuzuka Clan Techniques, Kiba's pov, M/M, Ninja Politics, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:21:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23992945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vision97/pseuds/vision97
Summary: There is so much Kiba doesn't know. So much that he feels he should know. They dance around many topics, skittering over details and keeping things vague. Still, Kiba has told Sasuke more than he has ever told anyone. Kiba doesn't feel inadequate or like he is walking in the shadow of giants despite the fact that the man before him has fought a god. It feels clandestine. It feels dangerous. Dark eyes peer at Kiba from above, a knowing smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. There is no sound of laughter but Kiba can see humor pouring out of Sasuke's eyes as his sword taps against Kiba's neck.Kiba isn't scared.He is breathless.
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Inuzuka Kiba
Comments: 25
Kudos: 70





	1. First Meeting

These masked thugs were too skilled to be simple smugglers. Their weapons were too high grade for people looking to make a quick profit. In truth, Kiba should have realized that as soon as he had seen the bank vault covered in seals that the criminals were using to smuggle their loot. But a lot of things had been stolen in the chaos of the fourth shinobi war. And apparently a lot of intel had fallen through the cracks as well. The thugs were relentless in chasing Kiba down. For all that Kiba was faster than them, they were more prepared for hunting people down with extreme prejudice and they were far more accustomed to the environment than Kiba was.

Kiba wasn’t fast enough. He dodges the explosive kunai but he is caught in its blast radius. The force of the explosion blasts him right through an entire tree trunk landing with a painful thud into another tree. Somewhere to his right he hears Akamaru whimper. Kiba growls. Akamaru DOES NOT whimper.

“There is a ninken here.” One of the thugs calls out.

“Then they are probably a nin from one of the villages. Capturing them is off the table. Kill the nin and the beast.” Kiba’s eyes sharpen and his claws grow out. He is under the thug closest to Akamaru before the thug can react. Quick jabs in the right places immobilize the thug and a slash across the neck ends the thug’s life. This had been a simple recon mission, now it was a fight for survival. Akamaru gets the message and begins to grow to his full size, whimpers turning to threatening growls. Kiba feels his and Akamaru’s chakra connect as his senses are lifted into an even more animalistic haze. The two dash in opposite directions, weaving in and out of trees to dodge the kunai and shuriken thrown in their direction. Kiba finds another thug and aims a swiping kick into her midsection followed by a savage swipe with his claws. Each hit connects with armor instead of flesh but the scraping sound of tearing metal can be heard loud in the forest. The force of the blows knocks the thug over and the mask flies off her face. She stares shocked at the tear marks on her armor and levels a horrified gaze at Kiba. Kiba bares his fangs at her. The woman reaches for a weapon but Kiba is upon her, ending her life with a single slash.

There are growls and terrified screams some distance away. Kiba moves to rejoin Akamaru when a soft twang is the only warning he receives. His abrupt change in direction saves his life. A large bolted arrow flies right into his shoulder where his chest had been a second before. The pain knocks all thought out of Kiba’s head, his connection to Akamaru shatters and Kiba howls before collapsing to the ground. Kiba barely dodges the next bolt that whizzes past his head. The movement sends a wave of bone chilling pain through his body and he hears the click of the next shot to be fired. Kiba catches the last bolt before it hits his chest.

“Ooh one of those beast nin. Perfect.” A female voice says. The figure moves forward, reloading a heavy looking crossbow that set Kiba’s already frayed nerves further on edge. That bow, that design: could only mean a hunter. Kiba pressed the hidden seals in his sleeve and threw some blades at her. She dodged them with ease while still reloading her crossbow then aimed right at Kiba’s face.

Akumaru leapt out into the fray from the side, face feral and terrifying eyes deep as night. Her first shot swung wide as she tried to dodge Akumaru’s attack. Akumaru’s swipe knocked her helmet off and she landed on her knees a few meters away, skidding to a stop with her next shot aimed directly at Akumaru. The bolt fired and all Kiba could let out was a panicked yell. Kiba’s world slowed as he watched the bolt fly with deadly speed toward his companion.

A glint and clang of metal knocking the bolt away mid flight was all that Kiba saw as a cloaked figure appeared out of nowhere. Everyone was surprised. Both Akamaru and the hunter stared the bolt lodged in a nearby tree. The figure waited. There was no hint of intent from the figure, no fear, rage or bloodlust. The hunter fired her two shots in rapid succession, each batted away with ease and a movement so fast all that Kiba caught was the glint of a blade. Apprehension began wafting off the hunter as she dropped her crossbow and advanced drawing a blade from her side.

She halted, eyes widening and body slackening till the blade fell out of her hand. Kiba knew the signs of a genjutu being woven into someone’s mind. The hunter blinked as if startled and Kiba thought the genjutsu hadn’t taken effect, but the hunter just looked around, eyes passing over their surroundings as if she was seeing something else and then back pedalling in horror at the sight of the other hunter’s body. Her apprehension left a strong stench as she raced away from whatever she saw. The figure sheathed its blade and turned to Kiba. Considering the speed with which the figure moved and the genjutsu it pulled, Kiba didn’t feel reassured. Akumaru padded over to him protectively. Kiba tried to stand fully only for sharp pain and a dizzy spell to almost bring him back to his knees with a yelp. The figure stepped towards him only for Akamaru to block its way.

“I’m sure you can understand…why I’m not so keen on hooded figures approaching me right now.” Kiba grunted out. The figure stopped. Kiba realized there was nothing stopping the figure from placing Akamaru under genjutsu and attacking Kiba if it wanted. Instead, the figure removed its hood.

Long, dark, spiky hair and sun glazed ivory skin. Dark, dark intense eyes sharp as a blade. Kiba blinked back the sudden lurching recognition that was more visceral than it should have been. This had been the closest he’d been to the other man in a decade. Maybe rumour and legend had made the man that much more recognizable than he desired and hence the hood.

“Uchiha.” Kiba called out, aiming for levity as he sunk back to the ground. Akamaru padded over to him nosing at the bolt sticking out of Kiba’s shoulder.

“Inuzuka.” Sasuke replied kneeling above him and glancing at the bolt as well.

“It didn’t go all the way through. I’m going to pull it out.” Sasuke’s voice was deeper than Kiba remembered. Than Kiba imagined it would be.

“And then what, you’ll watch me scream and bleed out?”

“You won’t bleed out.” Sasuke says catching his eyes certain and resolute. Sasuke gathers chakra around his fingers and reaches towards Kiba’s wound.

“Wait..” Kiba’s world whites out in a haze of pain. Faintly he can hear Akumaru growling. The pain recedes in waves. Kiba realizes he is shaking and cold.

“It’s barbed.” Sasuke says frowning down at Kiba’s injury.

“I could have told you that you…”Kiba’s swearing is lost in his winded breaths that send a wave of shivering pain with each inhale. Sasuke is saying something else but his voice is fading further and further away. It’s only when Kiba catches the edge of a knife heading towards his wound that Kiba lets out another panicked gasp.

“Wait, no no no…” Kiba tries to shrug Sasuke off. Sasuke moves away putting the knife in Kiba’s field of vision.

“I cannot move you without agitating that bolt in your shoulder. It needs to come out. Kiba, do you understand?” Sasuke’s eyes are steady. Hearing his own name from Sasuke’s mouth settles something in Kiba. Kiba does not want to do this but he understands. He understands.

Akamaru nudges his head against Kiba’s, their chakra connecting again and bolstering Kiba. Kiba looks at Sasuke who is waiting. Kiba nods. The knife is sharp and makes quick work of cutting through the flesh. Kiba hides his face in Akamaru’s fur with a silent scream. Akamaru yowls. Kiba loses track a few minutes in only coming back to reality when the pain begins to ease significantly and there is a stretch of skin reluctantly knitting itself back together. Somewhere in the easing of tension, Kiba loses his grip on consciousness


	2. Awake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiba awakens. Its not what Kiba expects and he gets more questions than answers.

Kiba feels eyes on him when he awakes. Kiba keeps his breathing even and eyes closed as he feels for his surroundings. He is lying on his back on a thin mattress, thin enough that he can feel the ground beneath him. There is a blanket over him, thin as well and made of a cheap cloth. He isn’t tied up or restricted in any way. There is light, heat and the soft crackling of a fire coming from his left. He inhales quietly and deeply. Smoke, food, earth and Akumaru are the most dominant smells in the air. No distress, no fear and no anger. Just calm, steadiness and a hint of something else; the faintest trace of tension in the air. Kiba can’t place his surroundings as someplace familiar but he knows he isn’t a prisoner. There is no imminent danger.

“Am I supposed to pretend I don’t know you’re awake?” A deep voice startles Kiba into opening his eyes. He twists to face the owner of the voice. Startlingly intent dark eyes reflecting the flicker of the flame between them greet Kiba and pin him in place. The feeling is familiar. Kiba was attacked yesterday. He nearly died. Sasuke, Uchiha Sasuke, saved him. Kiba blinked himself out of his stupor to inject his own response.

“If that will get you to quit staring.” Kiba turns to face the ceiling. They are inside somewhere, Kiba surmises, in a cave of sorts. Sasuke says nothing though there are noises of movement every so often. Kiba resists the urge to turn back and face the other man. He has no clue what Sasuke is thinking which is unnerving especially in the silence that has descended. Kiba can smell rice, fish, tea and a soup of foreign ingredients. Wherever they are, they have been here for a while. Akumaru is suspiciously docile. Even through their connection it is quiet except for the faint thrum of exhaustion running between them.

Kiba sits up to look for Akumaru, he knows Akumaru is nearby. Kiba winces and grits his teeth as a sharp phantom pain runs from his shoulder through his body like a chill but he can see Akumaru now. His friend is sleeping deeply. There is no hint of consciousness in Akumaru’s posture, his entire body is relaxed and has shrunk back to normal adult dog size.

“He was very tired. He insisted on carrying you all the way here.” Sasuke’s voice startled Kiba out of reverie. Kiba felt slower than he should have been. Sasuke had crossed over to Kiba while he hadn’t been looking and was now looking at the bandaged wound Kiba was absently fiddling with. Kiba slowly dropped his arm.

“He is stubborn where I am concerned. Besides, you only have one arm. What were you going to do, run while carrying me like a sack of rice?” The words tumble out faster than Kiba can stop them. Sasuke pauses and gives him a look. Kiba faintly wonders if he has overstepped and gives Sasuke a weak apologetic smile.

“You are a lot lighter than you think.”

“Hey, I am the average weight of a grown man!” Now Kiba is the one offended. There is a simmer in Sasuke’s eyes that Kiba knows is amusement, he remembers it from their genin days though he doesn’t remember looking for it or why. Sasuke makes a motion to move closer opening his palm onto Kiba’s injured shoulder.

“That is still lighter than you think.” Kiba huffs looking away, his shoulder free for Sasuke to assess.

“I was able to repair most of the damage to your shoulder, the muscle and the broken bones. I am no med-nin though so the blood you lost you will have to replenish naturally, and the nerve damage can be assessed in Konoha.” Kiba tries his best not to flinch as he feels Sasuke’s chakra pass through him. While Kiba himself had no healing talent, his sensory abilities and many trips to the med-nin during the war left him well acquainted with the general healing process. Sasuke’s chakra felt nothing like theirs; even in its most neutral form, Kiba could still feel the chakra’s natural inclination to fire and lightning. The vibration and the heat. It was like holding a cup of water and still being able to hear the roar of the waterfall from which the water was collected. Sasuke’s chakra recedes. Kiba turns back to his shoulder, prodding it gently and rotating it slowly. There is pain but it is manageable.

“Beats being dead. Thank you.” Their gazes catch, Sasuke’s mildly assessing and Kiba projetcs nothing but sincerity. Puberty had not just been kind to the Uchiha, Kiba notes distantly, it had been downright generous. Sasuke’s face had always been proportionate and the proportions had carried onto the cusp of adulthood. His features could only be described as strong and fine, like a sculpture. Sasuke moves back over the fire and begins fiddling with his cooking. Save for the fire, it is quiet. Silent. It isn’t a weighted, tense or oppressive silence but Kiba still finds himself uncomfortable. There is something about the stillness that Kiba isn’t prepared for. Save for Sasuke’s movements by the fire, there is nothing else.

“Now you are the one staring.” Sasuke doesn’t look up from whatever he is doing but in the silence the mocking lilt in his voice is clear as a bell. An old memory flares of a boy in a tree, a knowing smirk and an arrogant tilt of his chin, laughter clear even when no sound left the boy’s lips. Kiba pulls himself up to standing, steadfastly ignoring the protesting muscles twinging throughout his body. He is stiff and sore everywhere and his vision titters in and out of focus briefly.

“Where are we?” There is only one exit. A tunnel that Kiba guesses leads outside. He follows it, edging closer and closer to the wall. Try as he might, his gait is not straight and the steps he takes require more effort than usual. No wonder Akumaru is out of it. There is one bend and when he rounds it, he can see light spilling into the cave and a misty blue sky. As Kiba approaches the exit, the reality of just how high they are manifests. The horizon is filled with rising and falling landscape fading out into a milky blue. It looks nothing like Kiba has seen. Kiba leans over and glances down. The ledge to the cave is actually a cliff that drops sharply and suddenly. Kiba cannot even see the bottom because there is a cloud blowing past below them.

_There is a cloud blowing past below them_. Kiba is dizzy. He is yanked back onto the ledge before he falls over.

“What the… where the hells are we, Uchiha?” The feeling of not enough air in Kiba’s lung makes sense now. The air must be very thin with how high up they are. An arm pins Kiba to the wall. The dizziness fades but the emptiness in his chest does not. Now that their standing together, Kiba realizes Sasuke is half a head taller than him, so Kiba must tilt his head up for his glare to be effective. Sasuke is unaffected but he does step away and put some distance between them. Kiba glances back outside.

“We are in the south western reaches of the land of fire. The other side of that ridge is where you were investigating.” Sasuke says pointing into the distance. It’s an answer but it is vague and Sasuke knows that. Kiba gives him a dubious look. No wonder Akumaru is so tired. 

“Really, Uchiha, this is the best you could come up with?”

“Do you happen to know any better places nearby?” Sasuke challenges.

“Maybe someplace that isn’t leagues above ground! What sane person would even come up here?”

“That’s the point, Inuzuka. What happened to the gratitude?” Kiba glares at Sasuke. Sasuke looks back his head tilting slightly. The arrogant boy in the tree is back, soundless laughter and all.

“Eat and drink something. If you plan to leave some time, you’ll need to recover your strength.” Sasuke walks back into the cave. There were rumors about Sasuke everywhere, even in the village he had left behind. Beyond Konoha, Sasuke was a wandering legend. The stories would have been outlandish if they had been about anyone else and the storytellers were always stuck between awe and fear. Sentiments in Konoha however, were complicated and Kiba had far removed himself from the politics of the situation. 

Kiba remembers the bolt that had been in his shoulder the night before. Its design had been very specific and that worried him. Coupled with the smugglers advanced operations and Sasuke’s presence in the area. Kiba briefly looks back to the mountain and valleys bathed in milky blue and wonders exactly what he has stumbled into.


	3. Impressions I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiba continues to convalesce and converse with the mountain hermit Uchiha. It continues to prove to be both harder and easier than he imagined. He can't complain much.

The smell of food is enough to pull Akamaru from slumber. The bond between an Inuzuka and their companion exists, to varying degrees, on all levels through their chakra. Kiba can feel Akamaru groggily move through the same paces of awareness as Kiba had just a short while ago. Akamaru rises, stretching languidly and moves to inspect Kiba. Akamaru crowds into Kiba’s space, giving the human a once over, sniffing at his shoulder before deeming Kiba well with a huff.

_You look better, Kiba._ Akamaru’s sentiment resonates clearly across their bond.

“And I appreciate your help in that, I do, but you gotta give a man some space. I’m eating.” A soft laugh accompanies Kiba’s words. Kiba’s injured arm lifts his bowl of food with the tiniest tremble and his other arm runs through Akamaru’s fur starting from the hind led up to the ears, ending with an affectionate scratch. Akamaru perks up at the mention of food, twisting his body to face the fire so that Kiba ends up with a face full of tail fur.

“Hey!” Kiba does not see Sasuke and Akamaru’s exchange but when Akamaru struts over to Sasuke’s side of the fire, there is a bowl of food on the ground waiting for him. Akamaru sniffs at the food before enthusiastically digging in. Sasuke pays no mind to the gluttonous sounds beside him, his own bowl balanced atop his legs. There is fire and Akamaru’s munching and slurping. There is no tension in the air, yet Kiba feels something itching underneath his skin. An expectancy that leaves him wanting to speak for more than just filling the void between them. Answers. Kiba still needs answers.

“How did you find us last night?”

“I was in the area.” Kiba’s eyes narrow. Vague. Sasuke watches his reaction and lets out a huff equal parts amused and disappointed.

“Doing the same thing as you, I’d imagine.” Sasuke adds on.

“But not for Konoha.” _For whom?_ Kiba lets the unasked question hang in the air.

“No, not for Konoha.” Sasuke agrees readily, leaving the unasked, unanswered.

“Why help us then?” Sasuke tilts his head, making an exaggerated show of consideration.

“Why not?” Kiba can feel his hackles rise and moves to speak only to be cut off before he speaks.

“If you happened upon a nin from Iwagakure in mortal danger would you not help them.”

“Yes, but…” Kiba trails off abandoning that line of inquiry. Maybe hashing out where Sasuke and Konoha stand isn’t a wise idea. Sasuke saved Kiba and Akamaru when he didn’t have to, when his inaction could have gone undetected. Kiba decides to honor Sasuke’s privacy.

“Last I heard, you were saving villages from tsunamis and ending feudal wars along the coast of the Land of Waves.” Kiba had heard the hushed whispers in a bar on the outskirts of the tiny country. Out of desperation, one of the feuding villages had created a tsunami to wipe the other village’s forces out. In the conflict, the wielder of the tsunami jutsu died and the jutsu spun out of control threatening to overwhelm them both. The stories told of a man with glowing mismatched eyes appearing in the calamity and halting the wave in motion, frozen in time, with an outstretched hand as it threatened to engulf both sides. Then the stranger waved his hand and the massive tide retreated. Here, the accounts diverged wildly but ended in the same result. The feuding ended and the two villages united. Peace, life and humility for all.

“Konoha’s listening to rumours now?” Sasuke drawls, eyebrows raised in mild disbelief. Sasuke’s statement is not a denial of the accounts or his activity in them. Neither is it a direct confirmation but in this, Kiba can easily read between the lines.

“I don’t know. I haven’t been home in a while.” The last part comes out stilted. Kiba immediately regrets it. This is the first time he has said it out loud in the six years he has been a nomad. Kiba isn’t home often. He tries his best not to spend more than a week in Konoha if he can help it. It’s a topic he tries his best to avoid. Sasuke stares at him in the lengthening lull in conversation. Kiba looks at his now empty bowl.

“ _I_ listen to rumours to pass the time. I heard the story in a bar in the Land of Waves. There aren’t a lot of people with mismatched red and purple of eyes, a gaze as bright as lightning and sharper than any blade. The ladies still swoon for the Uchiha, gods know why.” Kiba injects some cheer and a mocking lilt to his voice glancing back up to tease. Kiba’s upbeat tone falls away when his eyes meet Sasuke’s searching gaze. Try as he might, Kiba can’t break away even though he knows he isn’t under genjutsu. Their deadlock breaks when Akamaru nudges at Sasuke’s shoulder to get the Uchiha’s attention. Akamaru noses at his empty bowl, whines and glances at the food still on the fire.

“Akamaru, we’ve talked about this. No begging strangers for food.” Sasuke heaps another helping into the ninken’s bowl. Akamaru’s tail wags slowly as he watches the food descend into his bowl. He dives into the bowl with the same gusto as the first bowl.

“He’s had a rough night, dragging you here and lending you his energy to speed up your healing.” Sasuke snorts softly, looking back to Kiba. Again, Kiba finds himself startled by the attention in those dark eyes when they focus on him.

“Yeah, well you are the one who insisted on Akamaru dragging me all the way up this mountain hideaway of yours.”

“He only carried you to the mountain, not up it.”

“OK and what, you did the heavy lifting for the rest of it?”

“In a manner of speaking.” Sasuke smirks, with no bite whatsoever. The man loves being purposefully difficult. Kiba remembers this along with the laughing eyes and arrogant smirk. Kiba rolls his eyes. The back and forth between them is an unexpected relief. It’s a much better rapport than he’d ever imagined having with Sasuke. Much better rapport than Kiba’s had with people who know his real name in a while. Still, Kiba is on a mission. Privacy or not, there are things that Kiba needs to know.

“What of the hunter nin and their loot?”

“Hunter nin. Is that what they are called?” Sasuke looks like he hasn’t heard that name before. Which isn’t surprising considering that they were considered extinct. The only reason Kiba knows of them is because of their natural clashing with the Inuzuka clan over the course of history. Hunters and beasts. 

“Were. Were called. There shouldn’t be anymore of them around.” It explains why Kiba didn’t realize he was outnumbered until it was too late. Why his assailants were so skilled in their pursuit. Kiba took pride in his skill at evasion. That they had kept to his tail the entire time had rankled at him. 

There is some shuffling and Akamaru approaches Kiba dropping the broken bolt that had been in Kiba’s shoulder onto his lap. Kiba examines it carefully and sniffs it. _Winter Daphne_ sap, a toxin that can muddy the chakra pathways and cause chakra paralysis, coats the neck and tip of the arrow. The barbed tips are designed to flatten and spread upon a high velocity impact. The design is exquisite, the work of someone who takes great pride in hunting and pain. If the arrow had been left in Kiba’s body any longer, Kiba would have been in a much sorrier state than he was now. He probably would have never been able to return to active duty again. Kiba senses Akumaru’s worry mirror his own and darts a quick look at Sasuke across the fire. There is no need for the other to know just how much he has saved Kiba’s hide.

“The nin have been taken care of and the loot is on its way to Konoha.” Kiba makes a doubtful noise but Sasuke does not elaborate on it any further. Kiba looks back at the bolt in his hand. He was supposed to find the smugglers base of operations. He hopes the bolt, what it represents, and the loot will more than make up for it.

“I have to go back to Konoha.” Kiba glances at Akamaru. They both are not at their best. Sasuke was right when he said Akamaru had lent him a lot of his own energy to keep Kiba afloat. Sasuke wasn’t aware of the nature of the Inuzaka-ninken bond so he had probably deduced it from Akamaru’s sluggish behaviour. To make it to Konoha, Akamaru would probably have to take a few doses of the soldier pills. Sensing the nature of Kiba’s thoughts, Akamaru whines in disapproval. He really hates those pills.

“Eat. You will need the energy.” Sasuke says gesturing to the pot above the fire. Kiba heartily complies. Food first. Planning will come in its own time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of things that intrigues about writing this pairing is the fact that they are virtually strangers. I cannot rely on speaking of the 'depth of the bond' in lieu of things like attraction, chemistry and the like. I have to build on that from scratch.   
> Also when do you let your character start to notice stuff like that? How much of it do they notice or act on. It's different for each character, so that can play into how a conversation can go. Just like in real life. So far, I'm going more for Kiba feeling the physical attraction but not acknowledging it as such. At least for now.


	4. Flying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke and Kiba part ways. Kiba thinks about going back to Konoha.

Chapter 4

Kiba sits on the ledge of the cave staring into the pale blue horizon. It smells wet foliage, dirt, and smoke from Sasuke’s fire. Usually Kiba could pick up smells of other things in the air: animals, people, and coal. In Sasuke’s cave, as Kiba now referred to it, few odours can make it that high and the air is too thin to support much. Kiba finds it oddly refreshing not to be assaulted by array of odd smells.

There is nothing to see except rolling hills and mountain outcrops far as his eyes can see. The trees start off a healthy summer green until they fade with distance into a milky white haze indistinguishable from the skyline. Kiba’s legs dangle freely below him and he tries his best not to look down. A gap in the almost perpetual cloud below them had revealed a sharp precarious descent that had caused his heart to leap into his throat. Sure, Kiba and Akamaru could use their chakra to walk on the mountain face if that were the only way to get down but Kiba fervently hoped that would not be the case. All this because Sasuke did not want anyone to find him. It seemed excessive. Faint footfalls and the slight scrapes of claws on hard rock alert Kiba to the duo approaching behind him.

“Aside from the usual questions, like how did we get up here or how do we get down? My most pressing concern is why were you even up here in the first place?” Kiba throws Sasuke an incredulous look with his question.

“Would you believe me if I said I was sight seeing?” Kiba snorts derisively at the question.

“No.”

“I was sight seeing.” Sasuke deadpans, leaning against a cave wall. Kiba makes a show of closing his eyes and sighing out loud. When he reopens them, he catches a glint of amusement not mockery in Sasuke’s expression. Kiba cannot be too sure but he feels optimistic. He finds himself constantly been thrown for loop when it comes to his expectations for conversation with Sasuke.

“Let us pretend that I believe you. Is there a way to get down other than…?” Kiba gestures vaguely over the ledge. Even as he speaks, Kiba hears an approaching whooshing noise below him. A quick glance reveals a rapidly approaching shadow through the clouds. Kiba skitters back further into the cave just as a large feathered bird zooms up past the cave in a blast of cold mountain air. A sharp hawk cry is heard after the bird passes. Kiba looks at Sasuke.

“No way.” Kiba’s obvious excitement makes Sasuke’s smirk widen into a smile. Sasuke walks up to the edge. Kiba and Akamaru join him. Kiba sees the bird flying above and the whooshing noise he now associates with it.

“How do we get on?” The bird disappears overhead.

“We jump.”

“What when?”

“Now.” A dangerous smirk and Sasuke leaps of the ledge.

“Wait. Sasuke!” Kiba is a trained nin used to split second decision making and a large part of him that begrudgingly trusts the Sasuke he is with now. Kiba is already mid-flight falling after Sasuke when he begins to reconsider. Sasuke streamlines his body zipping downwards like an arrow. Kiba and Akamaru follow suit. Air rushes past Kiba’s face in a whirring flutter clothes and he feels a feint sheen of moisture begin to form on his face. The giant hawk saddles beside them all, matching their falling speed and trajectory which allows them to attach to the bird. Sasuke glances back at Kiba and Akamaru to make sure everyone is on board before the hawk lifting out of its nose-dive. Kiba stomach sinks and he kneels, feeling the sensation of weightlessness building and cresting, pushing the air out of him with a quiet gasp. Sasuke looks at them, still standing as the hawk’s altitude evens out.

“This can’t be how we got up the cave?” Kiba shouts out to Sasuke. His own voice sounds distorted and there is a heaviness in his ears from the changing air pressure. Kiba gingerly finds his balance, uses his chakra to attach himself to the hawk and stands. Mists of moisture whip past them in varying shades of grey. Sasuke is now looking forward again, his cape and hair billowing in the wind. Kiba considers repeating his question but decides against it in favour of watching the horizon. Patches of green, blue, and brown break out sporadically amongst the clouds. Kiba dares not look down. The perspective is not one he is used to. Neither is Akamaru, whose agitation bleeds into their bond. Kiba scratches the back of Akamaru’s ears for comfort. It is not long before they break out of the clouds and begin descending. Slowly this time though Kiba still feels the reactionary pull and push of the change in forces.

All that fades away though in comparison to the view. Without the maudlin clouds in the way, Kiba can see for miles inland to the north and west, and for leagues into the sea in the south and the east. The inland is filled with greens and mountain peaks. The seas are deep dark midnight blue startling against the much paler blue skyline. Against Kiba’s own better judgement, he glances over the hawk’s body and peers down. They are so high, Kiba cannot differentiate one tree from another. The foliage coalesces into a carpet of green shades and reddish browns. Akamaru joins him in looking over the edge, his tongue lolling out and flubbering* wetly against his snout and jaw. Kiba snickers at the sight. As they continue their descent, the foliage comes into focus. The multicoloured carpet sharpens into leaves, trees, and branches. The view is spectacular. Kiba recognises the Sulenin river as they fly over it. Its volume suggests they are about 3 hours ride on Akamaru from Konoha. The hawk swings low and to the right towards a clearing by the river. They land in a giant whoosh of air that blows through the forest.

Akamaru leaps off the hawk and onto the ground. He seems to be relieved to be on the ground again. Kiba jumps to join him with a laugh and lands with what feels to be a heavy thud. The ground feels hard and unrelenting beneath his feet. The smell of foliage, hard earth, reeds, and fauna smother Kiba’s senses. With a forced huff, Kiba’s ear pop. Kiba’s gaining an awareness of his surroundings with each breath that he has not had since he woke up in Sasuke’s cave. There is a growing twinge and heat in his shoulder that Kiba tries to ignore.

Kiba finds Sasuke has dismounted as well and is currently petting the hawk’s beak. Both Sasuke and the hawk seem quietly amused with each other. The amusement is odd to recognise on the hawk’s face as its markings and eyes give it a more serious mien. There is a bond of sorts there, Kiba can tell from experience, the non-verbal synchronicity between the hawk and Sasuke makes it obvious. They turn to face Kiba as he and Akamaru approach.

“And who is your friend here?” Kiba asks gesturing to the hawk. Sasuke and the hawk glance at each other.

“This is Garuda.”

“Are you not going to introduce us to Garuda?”

“I did. Hawks are non-verbal communicators.” Kiba nods in understanding. Akamaru was a nonverbal communicator as well.

“Thank you, Garuda.” Garuda disappears in a pop startling Kiba.

“How are you getting back?” Kiba asks.

“Garuda only ferried us this far because there aren’t many ways of getting you close to Konoha without aggravating your shoulder.”

“You… you didn’t have to.” Sasuke does not respond to that but there is a smile or the beginnings of it until he notices Kiba fidgeting with his shoulder. Sasuke moves to examine it, hand coming to rest just in front of Kiba’s shoulder.

“It’s fine.” Kiba says as he feels the hints of vibration and heat run through his shoulder. Sasuke’s chakra does not glow the same faint blue green as others do, his is a deep translucent purple, heavy with intent.

“I’m not an invalid.” Kiba huffs meeting Sasuke’s gaze. His breath catches slightly when their eyes connect. Kiba keeps forgetting the effect those eyes have on him. The smell of smoke had been blown off Kiba and Akamaru during their flight but traces of it still cling stubbornly to Sasuke. There is a hint of ozone about Sasuke, a current of predator that drapes of the man with languid ease. For a moment, Sasuke’s eyes remind Kiba of Garuda. Kiba blinks away the image as he steps away. 

“Get checked by a medic.” Kiba nods a bit distracted. In the next moment, Sasuke is gone: no blur or sound. But Kiba can still smell Sasuke in the air. Akamaru also sniffs at the air trying to pinpoint where Sasuke vanished. It is a futile endeavour. The pair turn northwest in the general direction of Konoha. Akamaru grumbles as he chews on the soldier pills and his fur turns an angry red colour. The entire trip back to Konoha, Kiba mulls over his time with Sasuke. The eyes, the smoke, and the feel of his chakra flare sharply in Kiba’s memory. The man Kiba met was both familiar and wholly foreign. Kiba is fascinated but acknowledges he will probably not see Sasuke anytime soon. The disappointment he feels churning in his gut at that is unwelcome and leaves him decidedly uneasy. More uneasy than the prospect of returning to Konoha. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiba arrives in Konoha to some distressing news concerning his former teammate, Hinata.

The news that Hanabi Hyuuga's eyes had been stolen and that Hinata had disappeared to get them back had been shocking.

"All I am asking is, why am I the last person to know about this?" Kiba tries his best to keep the hurt out of his voice. They were his teammates once. The alcohol buzzing through Kiba's system makes it difficult for him to tell if he is successful though. Empty bottles of sake were stacked neatly beside them.

"Because more often than not, you are not here." Shino says blandly as he stacks the empty bottles of sake into a pyramid. To most people, Shino's focus on such a mundane task while in conversation with another person would be seen as rude. But Kiba understands that Shino often feels trapped if he has to keep his focus is entirely on social interaction. Instead of the awkward and rigid responses Shino offers in public when he forced to keep his gaze to the coversation, here Shino is quick and insightful even if the words feel like a jab at Kiba.

"After the war, everyone was desperate to reclaim any sense of normal they had left. Everyone except you. You left as if hell were hot on your heels." 

"I stayed to rebuild didn't I?" Kiba bites back without any fire. This is not a new conversation. Kiba rehashes it in some way or form with someone after every three or four visits. 

"You stayed as short as was socially acceptable and not a moment longer." Shino counters brutally giving Kiba a rare disapproving glare. The short distraction is enough for Shino's hand to drunkenly overshoot the placement of the next bottle on his pyramid and it comes crashing down into a pile of glass shards. They look at each other in a loaded silence until the moment shatters just like the sake bottles. The two erupt into a fit of giggles.

"Look, you've made me start talking about social niceties." Their giggles turn into raucous laughter. The sound carries out into the woods surrounding them but it does not matter. They are all alone on the very outskirts of Konoha in the dead of night. Even if someone were to chance upon them it would just be two drunk friends messing about. Shino is out of his usual shinobi attire, wearing only his shaded goggles. An intoxicated blush dusts his cheeks visible to Kiba even in the moonlight. As beast nin, alcohol has a more pronounced effect on them. Shino loses all sense of direction and Kiba, comically,lostes all sense of shame. They make quite a pair. Shino has cropped his hair short giving his face a sharper more mature look. It is different. It is nice. Kiba blinks himself out of his stupor realizing that he has been caught staring. Shino's face morphs from laguidly relaxed to guiltily concerned.

"Is it because of..."

_Gods._

"No. No...No." Kiba interrupts firmly and repeats himself to make sure. He feels his own face flush hotter than it was previously. There is no need to rehash that particular period of their friendship. 

"You know there are rumours that you have a secret family stashed away somewhere out there. You fathered a child when you were a chuunin and no one wants to admit that your family disowned you." Shino is now drawing a circle in the dirt around the pile of shattered glass and there is an amused smirk on his face. The thought is funny, Kiba admits, especially considering what Shino knows about Kiba's choice in companions. But Kiba's mind stumbles over a specific word before the humor takes over. 

Disowned. Unease churns in his gut. His mother would never disown him for his.. proclivities. Kiba knows this. He *knows* this. But, the unease still causes his gut to sink like a stone in water. Shino notes the pause and Kiba's sudden shift in mood.

"No way..."

"What? Of course not!"

"Just checking." Shino murmured. Insects are crawling out of his sleeve and swarming the glass pile. Kiba decides to change the subject.

"I'm worried about Hinata. She went to offer herself in marriage to some guy on the moon!" It was up there with the other crazy things they had learnt from the war. 

"I'm not too worried. Naruto went after her."

"...Are those two..."

"Not yet, but I'm certain they will be." Shino laughs watching his insects make a clay mound with pieces of glass in it.

"What makes you say that?"

"It's what a hero would do." Shino says with a mirthless smile. From what Kiba had gathered Hinata, and Naruto apparently, had been gone a while. A chill sweeps through Kiba reminding him that it is quite late. 

"We should probably get going." Kiba says standing up. Shino observes the clay mound for a moment longer before standing up as well. Shino takes a slow sweep of the area they are in before mumbling,

"Hey Kiba, you are taking me home right?"

"I always do." Kiba says leading his friend in the direction of home. Shino could never be trusted to go anywhere alone when he was drunk. The walk back into the village is spent in companionable silence. The village itself has died down to the last dregs of society and the occasional drunkard fumbling their way home, much like them. Kiba is content to let his mind wander, meandering over Konoha's scenery and the changes since his last visit.

"Kiba." He stops at the tone in Shino's voice. They were team mates and, despite Kiba's distance, they are friends. Kiba casts a glance at Shino who is slouching into himself.

"They asked me to be the next clan head." 

"I didn't know you were in the running."

"I didn't either. Apparently all the other prospectives are dead or no longer suitable for the role." Shino says in a large exhale straightening himself and rising to his full height. 

"Do you want to?" 

"They need me to." Shino says quietly. Kiba almost flinches away at the answer. The leaden weight in his gut has returned. Thoughts of home, family and duty wash over him like an icy shower. The two approach Shino's apartment building. 

"You will do great." Kiba says as the pair come to an abrupt stop by the entrance to the building. Shino gives a short laugh.

"I've never been good with people. I don't see how leading people will be any different." Kiba has nothing to say to that. Shino enters his apartment and Kiba begins his trek to his own apartment. It is sparsely decorated and a dusty musk clings to the air indicating weeks to months of disuse. Akamaru prefers sleeping with his pups at the Inuzuka shelter so Kiba is alone. His mother and sister complain every time they visit. It is too shoddy, too bare and Kiba is never there. The complaints lead to an argument or tense silence. They are both visiting less and less. Kiba misses them but he does not know how to stop the ongoing trainwreck that is their relationship without bringing up the one thing that would irrevocably change things. Kiba is not brave enough.

As sleep claims him, to the ever present buzz of the Konoha that Kiba can never ignore, Kiba wonders; _It can't go on like this. But I'm afraid. I've been disappointing them for a long time. This would be the last straw. I love them and I'm afraid._

Kiba wakes to a roaring wave of urgency from Akamaru. Akamaru isn't even close by but Kiba is almost fooled into thinking Akamaru is barking into his ear. Kiba dresses in a rush and runs to the Inuzuka shelter. It isn't just Akamaru though, the air is filled with fear, frustration and tension. Kiba notices other nin rushing to the Hokage mountain and diverts his own path sending certainty and comfort through his connection to Akamaru. That's when Kiba notices the dark flecks in the sky growing rapidly in size. Dozens with trails of smoke behind them. Kiba has a brief flashback to the moment during the war when the minds of everyone where filled with the last moments of Lord Yamanaka and the support team at the allied shinobi forces. The dreadful silence of the disconnect in the silence that followed. Kiba doubles his speed. 

When he gets to the mountain, the flecks are the size of his fists in the sky. The air now smells of panic and Kiba can hear the panicked cries of the people in the village. There is a tiny tremor, imperceptible to most, beneath his feet as the first meteorite hits the surface somewhere far away. Kiba watches as some of the meteorites are broken apart by techniques he has never seen and some chakra rail gun. The biggest chunk in the sky continues to head towards them. 

"Why aren't they destroying the closest one?" 

"That is the farthest one. It's just that big." Kiba startles when he hears Shino's voice beside him. 

"What are we waiting for then?"

"Konoha is the safest place. The shockwave the meteorite will create will decimate anywhere else. The goal is to divert it away from Konoha and deal with the fallout." Their world darkens as the meteorite blots out the sun. The tremors are a constant thrum under his feet now. These are just the small ones. Rock Lee darts off into the sky in a blaze of green and the massive rock divers its course a little, enough that silver of sunlight peeks through. 

"It's not enough." Shino intones gravely. Raucous chirping fills the mountain side as Kiba watches the sixth Hokage become wreathed in white blue crackling light. The chirping and the light intensifies in seven pulses of chirping light Kakashi's eyes become beams of light and fissures of the same light appear across his skin. A blue mist coalesces around him, a cold sweet adrenaline spikes in Kiba as the first hints of the mist waft into his nose. On the eighth pulse a thousand birds become a million and Kakashi is entirely consumed by lightning. The rock hurtles ever closer to them. Kiba can feel its heat as it approaches and the doom it spells drowns out the noise of Kakashi's jutsu. It is too close now. Even if it is destroyed, the fallout will be all over   
Konoha.

The rushing wind dies. The massive rock hangs suspended over Konoha. A million birds now echo all throughout th mountainside and probably even the village. A cloaked figure approaches the lightning storm figure that is Kakashi and lays a hand on him. The lightning dims and the cacophony of birds disappears. The fissures of light all over Kakashi remain however and the Hokage collapses on his knees. Kiba and Shino rush to Kakashi's side but cannot touch him due to the sparks of lightning arcing about him. 

Blinding white light intermingled with shadow erupt from the figure hand. An ominous roar of wings flapping surrounds them. A thunderstorm and a forest fire, chakra of ash and ozone floods Kiba's nose. He knows this chakra. Sasuke Uchiha. The light and shadow shift shape into a spear. Kiba doe not miss how space distorts into a mirage around Sasuke blowing his cape off and removing any semblance of anonymity. Glowing eyes of a mismatched red and purple and a curse mark the sign of cross from the middle of his forehead to the bridge of his nose and below his eyes across; Sasuke makes for an imposing sight.

Sasuke hurls the spear at the stationary meteorite. The rock simultaneously shatters and explodes as light and shadow tear through it. The debris remains suspended in mid air with Sasuke's arm outstretched in a follow through of his throw. Sasuke draws his arm back and pushes back. The debris disintegrates furthers and is blown away like chaff in the wind. It's quiet again. Sasuke turns back to them, all traces of his dojutsu and the curse mark gone. Kakashi is still sporadically sparking but the fissures on his skin are fading. Kiba can pick up the sound of cheering in the village below getting louder and louder as the realization that the village passed through unscathed spreads.

"You are enjoying this far too much Sasuke." Kakashi grinds out as another spark shoots out of him.

"You are alive after the little stunt you just tried to pull." Sasuke notes blandly.

"I'm so...grateful." Kakashi gingerly stands. 

"I'm sure you will be once certain people learn of this little stunt you just tried to pull." Sasuke sounds teasing but there is an edge to his tone and a hardness in his expression that gives both Kiba and Shino pause.

"Thank you Sasuke." Shino says neutrally, to inject them into the conversation. Sasuke, finally, looks at them. His eyes linger on Kiba and his arm long enough to have Kiba rotating his shoulder out of reflex. See, it is fine. Sasuke quirks an eyebrow then focuses a final severe glance at Kakashi.

"Shino. Kiba. Take care of your Hokage." Sasuke nods to them and then disappears in a blur.

"Well that went well don't you think?" Kakashi all but collapses onto the ground again. Shino and Kiba rush to him but he waves them away static sparking across his fingers.

"Shino, please go get either Tsunade or Sakura. No one else. Kiba, make sure I don't explode." Shino is gone before the sentence is complete. Kiba is not sure how to handle his role.

"Ex-plode?"

"Yes. Sasuke's little seal may have interrupted my jutsu but there is still chakra everywhere." Every few words, Kakashi twitches and sparks a bit. Kiba smells the thick swaft of adrenaline still clinging to Kakashi and swallows. How is he supposed to make sure the Hokage does not explode?

"Kiba, I need to you to go northwest of Konoha by the pine forest ridge and meet with Sasuke at eleven tonight. Tell no one."

"Why?" Kakashi levels him a cool look with none of his usual easy going demeanor. It was like that then.

"Of course, Hokage-sama." 


	6. In the Dead of Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kiba goes to meet Sasuke.

Kiba spends the rest of the day hearing the rumors of Sasuke's actions circulating the village. A path of meteorites had been decimated between Konoha and the continent's east coast in a streak of jagged light and shadow; thunder preceded by the ominous flap of dragons wings. Even after Konoha was saved, the fire and lightning had streaked on northwest, cutting through the Land of Wind and skirting the southern borders of Iwa. Apparently. The stories are just as outlandish as the ones Kiba hears outside of Konoha. Except these ones carry a darker edge behind the palpable relief Sasuke's actions have wrought. Sasuke's absence during the celebrations and Kakashi's lack of acknowledgement in the official report. Even from his hospital stretcher where Sakura and Guy viciously berate Kakashi for trying to copy a suicide technique, Kakashi says nothing. Paranoid whispers hang in the air long after the praise has died out. 

He is a hero. So were other Uchiha.  
He is powerful. Too powerful.  
He saved us. This time.

As one of the few close witnesses to Sasuke and Kakashi's interactions, Konoha's war hounds smell something valuable on Kiba: information or a potential ally. The stench of their duplicity is intolerable and Kiba provides them neither. Kiba deftly dodges being pigeonholed by the questions flung in his direction. He follows the Hokage's example and keeps his answers vague and noncommittal. With Kakashi sequestered in the hospital, some are more confident to voice their discontent publicly. Kiba knows political manipulation when he sees it. That the carefully curated words are spoken where no one can outright challenge them makes it all the more obvious. Konoha always feels like a secret tug of war. 

When night falls, Kiba is relieved to leave the village on his secret errand. The Inuzuka compound feels like a trap waiting to be sprung. Hinata and Naruto are still hot yet back and Shino is consumed by his preparations to be clan head. Any nightlife activities in Konoha felt like a mistake waiting to happen and with random eyes on him after the day's events, Kiba is disinterested in even trying. So Kiba leaves like a thief in the night with Akamaru acting as Kiba-double in the village's seedy southern taverns while Kiba ventures to the designated spot in the northwest.

The cacophony and noxious mix of the village on Kiba's senses bleeds out quickly into the soft buzz of the nocturnal animal life in the forests of the land of fire. Kiba's ears pick out the hooting of an owl species particular to the woods surrounding Konoha and sudden darting footfalls of critters skittering away as he passes. Kiba pauses. Waits. Listens. There are no human footsteps following him and no heavy breathing. Faintly, layered beneath the flow of natural chakra, is the hint of smoke and lightning different from everything else that makes his breathing stutter and recover. He would have never detected it if had he not been saturated in that specific energy not so long ago. Kiba smirks and turns in that direction. It takes a couple of steps for Kiba to discern another hint separate from Sasuke's. This chakra reminds Kiba of the Hokage office and today's events on the mountainside before Sasuke's arrival. It must be Kakashi. 

Kiba hears no voices as he approaches and finally spots two figures stock still against some fir trees a hundred meters away. He pauses. The moment stretches.

"We are waiting for you, Kiba." Kakashi drawls out lazily, startling Kiba out of his stupor. Kiba is next to Kakashi who is leaning lackadaisically against a fir tree. The man looks healthy for someone who was supposed to be confined to bed rest.

"I did not think you would be here, Lord Hokage."

"He isn't supposed to be." Sasuke mutters giving Kakashi a disapproving look. The look is also resigned, as if they had this discussion before Kiba arrived. Kakashi almost preens at the sour look he receives from Sasuke. 

"Why not? I wouldn't just throw my favourite scout into the deep end like that." The statement makes Kiba uneasy. Not because of the blatant lie but because of the way it is delivered. Kiba admittedly does not know his Hokage well, despite the fact that they share many friends and technically share blood. What he does know is that rage and pathos cling to Kakashi like a dark persistent cloud. The very smell of Kakashi is enough to make most Inuzuka wary, no change in tone or posture can mask the tragedy that clings to him.

"He knows the mission then?"

"Bah! The mission is nothing. You are the deep end." 

"Kakashi." Sasuke's voice deadens in a way that conveys more severity than his previous tones could manage and it finally seems to strike something in Kakashi that the other man cannot shake off easily. The entire conversation is not settling Kiba's nerves. He feels several paces behind and the other two speak to each other as though they are sparring to first blood.

"The mission needs someone we can both trust, who trusts you and is not on the Council's radar. I trust Kiba. You saved him and he did not seem to mind. The only person who spends less time in Konoha than Kiba is you." Kakashi's voice deadens to match Sasuke. Kiba fidgets in the short silence that ensues. Kiba is somewhat used to the whiplash of Kakashi's mannerisms. 

"Let's stop acting like Kiba isn't here to speak for himself. Kiba what do you think?" Both of them turn to him. Kiba almost stumbles back, they feel too close and something is off. When he looks at Sasuke's eyes there is something missing there. He digs into his connection with Akamaru and his vision shifts. There. Oh. For a moment, Kiba is still a hundred meters away from the other two and his gaze is locked with Sasuke's. Even from where he is, Kiba can feel the way Sasuke's gaze pins him in place with a weight that was missing in the illusion. Kiba is next to Sasuke and Kakashi again. 

"He's noticed we are in a genjutsu. Thank goodness! I was worried you were going to embarrass me in front of Sasuke." Sasuke rolls his eyes heavenward. Kiba is not sure what to think. Now that he knows what to look for, Kiba can feel the genjutsu like a hand on his shoulder. Remarkably subtle. Kiba tries to nudge out the genjutsu's invisible grasp. He does not budge.

"It is so that we can speak privately," Sasuke says.

"We are in meeting in the woods in the middle of the night! What is so important that it cannot be spoken aloud here other than satisfying both your penchants for the dramatic?" The words shoot out of Kiba before he can rethink them. Sasuke and Kakashi blink at him. Sasuke levels what Kiba guesses is a smug glance Kakashi's way as if Kiba's outburst proves whatever point he is making. A part of Kiba is mortified, this is still a meeting that the Hokage invited him to. But a larger part of Kiba feels so much better now that the words are out. Kiba knows whatever is going on has to do with the Council of Elders. It is not surprising considering the Council were the loudest voices calling for Sasuke's execution not to mention their still ambiguous affiliation with Danzo's Root scheme. The more Kiba thinks about it the more Kakashi and Sasuke's actions make sense. Kiba is still bitter. They may be nin, but he prefers not having to think like he is among enemies in his own home.

What should feel like home anyway, Kiba amends.

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama." Kiba grunts out in apology.

"No, you are right. Sasuke and I... we sometimes forget that not everyone lives a life with shadows lurking around every corner," Kakashi's voice is subdued again and he gives a sedate smile to Sasuke and Kiba that carries an apology with his words. 

"I have trusted reports detailing heists like the one you were tailing, Kiba, weren't heists at all but payments to unknown benefactors disguised as thefts. The goods, one way or another, end up disappearing in the Mist."

"Why not assign the mission to the ANBU?" Kiba does not mean his question to doubt his Hokage's abilities and it luckily Kakashi does not take it as such.

"Everytime we do the payload ends up as a decoy or the nin in question is ambushed by people uniquely skilled to counter their talents." Kakashi's eyes connect with Kiba's and he suddenly gets it. Someone in Konoha sent the hunter nin after him. Kakashi's flickers out of existence before the entire genjutsu collapses. Kiba is momentarily taken aback by the sensations washing over him again. The cool night air against his skin, the soft bristling touch of the fur on his collar and sleeves and the soft hum of his surroundings. 

"Damn it, Kakashi." Sasuke hisses. Kiba watches Sasuke stride to Kakashi who is using the fir tree for support as he slowly slides onto the ground. Unlike in the genjutsu, Kakashi looks haggard and ready to collapse. Kiba rushes to join the pair, Kakashis now slouching against the tree and Sasuke crouching above him. A swaft of adrenaline and strain hits Kiba's nose.

"I know." Kakashi's tired admission stills Sasuke and whatever admonition he had mustered up. Taking a longer than cursory glance at Sasuke reveals that the Uchiha exhausted himself. It is in the softer edges around Sasuke's features and the careless way his cloak drapes over his shoulders.

"Kiba, essentially, this mission could land you on opposing ends of your friends or family, politically at best and at worst you may cross blades with them. Are you in?" Sasuke speaks lowly focusing on Kakashi. Kakashi's eyes connect with Kiba over Sasuke's shoulder.

"I will do as the Hokage asks to the best of my ability."

"Sasuke will take you to a base of theirs, east of the Land of Snow. Find information on who is linked to this debacle in Konoha. They must not know that anyone from Konoha is there." 

"Continue north west. I will find you." Sasuke's left eye flared into the Rinnegan and between one moment and the next, he and Kakashi were gone. Kiba blinked a couple of times trying to parse the information he had. Little made sense still but Kiba had agreed and meant it. Kiba drew it a specialized dog whistle from his pocket and blew a double heartbeat rhythm. This was a code Akamaru would understand as 'follow me.' Kiba pulled his coat tighter around himself and began heading north west. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry there still isn't any explicit romance or romance allusions. I'm still working on 'quickening' the burn.  
> Also apologize if it feels like there a gaps in info. I'm trying to keep Kiba's pov as discover as he does as possible.


	7. The Land of Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke and Kiba encounter problems in the Land of Snow.

Kiba is not expecting to find Sasuke waiting for him by the unofficial border into the mountain range that leads to the Land of Snow. The Land of Snow is not a political entity in and of itself. There is no order or rule of law, only darkness and deceit. It lies In between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth as a mountain range that curtails the arid desert winds of the Land of Wind to the south and the subtropical climate of the Land of Earth. The mountains are high enough to block out the morning and evening sunlight for the majority of the year resulting in a frigid air that blankets the mountain valley in permanent frost. The place is dreary and dangerous.

"You got here quick. Is there a shortcut I don't know about?" 

"I outran a tail from Konoha. I came round on back from Sound and the Canyons." Kiba raises his eyebrows at that. Sasuke is wearing his hooded cape so his face obscured and his sword is hidden. Kiba himself has foregone any ensignia tying him to Konoha. A deep discreet inhale and Kiba can barely catch the hint of smoke and storm that is Sasuke's chakra, even with the very small distance between the two. Kiba can, however, smell the crispy fibres of Sasuke's clothes, as if they have been recently ironed. A hint of a trace of the speed Sasuke was moving and heat of his chakra through his clothes.

"Why not just do your fancy disappearing trick?" 

"I wanted them to think they knew where I was going." Kiba catches Sasuke's eyes from beneath the cloak and there is faint amusement at Kiba's purposeful barb of cheapening Sasuke's teleportation to a fancy trick like a sleight of hand. The two, and Akamaru, stare down the descent into the Land of Snow: a jagged windy path into a valley cast in shadow.

"Are you going to tell me more about what it is exactly that we are doing or where we are going?" Sasuke sighs looking over the valley. 

"I'm not sure how much you know of international politics after the war." Kiba is certain Sasuke means nothing by it but the statement stings. Kiba reminds himself that Sasuke is not passing judgement on what many friends and family perceive as Kiba's negligence. Sasuke probably has no idea just how far removed from the politics and inner workings of Konoha Kiba really is. Maybe that is for the best.

"Assume I know nothing." The words sour his stomach and scrape past his throat but Kiba's voice is airy and unconcerned. Sasuke eyes pierce him for a beat before the man replies.

"Sometime before the war, nobility across the entire continent began building private armies in preparation for the collapse of the shinobi world. They were planning on ushering in a new warring states period with the alliances made in secret." Sasuke's eyes dont leave his. With the shadow cast on his face, Sasuke's eyes are black endless pools framed by dark eyelashes, fine sculpted features that are caressed by both the light and the dark. Kiba swallows as Sasuke continues to speak.

"Of course the shinobi world did not collapse and in fact proved itself to be powerful enough together even after it had suffered terrible losses across the five elemental nations. Still, deals had been struck, battle lines were drawn and promises of a new era had been made to countless desperate people with no choice but to fight in a war that is now moot." 

"So they are trying to bring about the world they envisioned even though the chaos they hoped to feed off of isn't there?"

"Yes, and they have to fight the shinobi world and amongst themselves in the shadows." Sasuke's words, in part, explained what Kiba had seen in his own missions: skirmishes in places that held little conceivable value between people whose alliance could not be determined. They start their descent into the Lands of Snow. Akamaru takes his most diminutive form to hide the fact that he is ninken and stays dutifully by Kiba's side.

"What of this place we are going to?"

"A base of sorts for the so called hunter nin." Kiba startles at the mention of the hunter nin. Sasuke notices. So the hunter nin were more than just surviving remnants then. That was his mother's hope when Kakashi had relayed the information to the beast nin of Konoha. 

"Does Kakashi know about this?" The temperature is steadily dropping, Kiba can now see clouds of his breath forming on each exhale. Sasuke humms an affirmative.

"Their existence seemed to bug him too."

"We thought they died out after the third ninja war."

"We?" It is an innocuous question that treads on information that is restricted to family and those holding high esteem with the beast nin clans. Kiba hesitates at the question for a moment too long.

"Something about hunters and beast-nin I suppose. If that is the case, Akamaru needs an even more conspicuous disguise." Sasuke leaves it at that with a short huff of amusement and a smirk. Kiba and Akamaru glance at each other. Kiba sighs and nods. In a brief flash, Akamaru morphs into a clone of Kiba, but with a more feral edge to his mein. Akamaru draws his hood drawn up to hide the resemblance. They continue their descent into the Land of Snow in silence. Kiba feels awkward. He has many questions but his refusal to answer Sasuke's question leaves him at a disadvantage even when Akamaru's disguise confirmed Sasuke's suspicions.

The sun disappears over the gorge and they are left with only ambient light better suited to twilight hours to guide them. Frost becomes a permanent feature on the ground and the plant life gradually thins out until there is sparsely any flora left. The air is dry, stale and chalky. It is quiet. If they had been any less trained, their footsteps would have echoed into the empty canyon. Kiba finds it hard to believe anyone willingly lives here. Akamaru stops abruptly and taps twice against Kiba's hand. Tiny crunching shuffles against the snowy ground and then a pregnant pause. Sasuke keeps walking as if he is unaware they have an audience. Akamaru and Kiba reluctantly follow. Kiba makes out three sets of crunching footfalls trying to mask their sound by moving in tandem with them. What alarms Kiba is, just like the last time, he cannot smell them.

"Sasuke." We are being followed Kiba does not says. Sasuke understands and answers with an affirmative hum. There is twang beside them that Kiba has not forgotten. A bolt whizzes past Kiba, piercing space his leg previously occupied. There is ominous creaking and rumbling above them. The three spring apart as an avalanche of snow collapses between them and creates a barricade that separates Sasuke from the Akamaru and Kiba. Kiba cannot see Sasuke anymore but he puts the thought out of his mind when he hears several twangs of crossbows being readied even above the sudden din of collapsing snow. It is another trap, Kiba thinks grimly. A very organized trap at that. 

Kiba shifts onto all fours. His vision deadens while his other senses sharpen exponentially and his canines lengthen. Kill. There is no room for mistakes. Akamaru gets the message. The snow the hunters used to separate Sasuke from them has the added benefit of creating a mist of settling snow that obscures everyone's vision. However, Kiba and Akamaru do not rely on their sight like regular people. Kiba zips through the mist, slashing throats, breaking necks and hearing the sounds of Akamaru doing the same. As the snow clears, he and Akamaru leap up to opposite faces of the canyon, watching from above. 

"Above us!" A hunter calls out when he spots the deadly pair. Kiba and Akamaru dart off the canyon walls dodging bolts and slowly encircling the remaining hunters. One hunter throws a grenade at their feet and a green smoke hisses out and rapidly coalesces around the hunters. The smell is beyond awful. Before Kiba can think about it, he is backing away from the hunters and shifting out of the Four Fangs Technique just to lessen the effect of the smell on his senses. Akamaru shifts into his wolf form and rapidly digs himself underground to get away from the smell. Two other hunters grab similar grenades and get ready to throw them. The other three hunters aim their crosbows at him.

"Shame we have to take you alive, murdering man-dog!" The hunters never fire. A short crackling whizz and the three hunters drop their crossbows shouting in pain and spasming as they collapse. In each of their shoulders there is a protruding glint of metal that sparks with electricity. Kiba and the remaining two hunters watch a caped Sasuke descend on them from above. Kiba does not see the blades thrown but the two hunters collapse spasming all the same. The grenades they are holding spark and burst into liquid flame that scorches both the hunters. Their pained screams are short lived. They are dead by the time Sasuke lands.

"Thanks, but I had it covered." Kiba says to Sasuke.

Another twang. Kiba already knows he is going to be too slow as he dives sideways. Akamaru erupts from the ground and catches the bolt in his teeth before it finds its mark in Kiba's side. Another bolt is already on it's way but Kiba catches this one with his hands. 

"Impressive. But that was just the first wave." A hunter jeers. More stink grenades fall around the trio and Kiba hears the gears of crossbows being reloaded.

"Blow the gas in their direction." Sasuke says deflecting the first bolt that heads their way. The noxious fumes already have Kiba teary and he is not even in an enhanced state. Kiba forms a hand seal, takes a breath that almost knocks him out and blows. Sasuke throws a tagged kunai into the strong breeze that Kiba blows into the second group of hunters. The gas ignites an angry convectional in a booming cloud of sulphur red and inky black smoke. The canyon shakes briefly and then stills. The sudden inferno dies as suddenly as it appeared but the inky black smoke lingers.

"Damn it!" A pained voice groans in the smoke. A flaring shot is fired into the sky. The voice laughs 

"Beat this." She wheezes out before finally succumbing to her injuries. 

"What now?" Sasuke doe not need to respond before there is a monstrous shuffling that starts approaching them through the smoke. Akamaru is back on the surface and growls at whatever is approaching. A humanoid beast with pale skin, platinum hair and sheets of ice protruding from its skin lumbers forward. Its amber eyes dart around manic until they settle on the trio and the creature tries to lunge only to be drawn back by the burst of electricity from the shock collar attached to its neck.

"Kill! Let me kill!" The creature punches the ground and shards of ice erupt around it. Akamaru growls and grows to his full size, now towering over the creature.

"Oh, big doggy! Fun to kill! Not squishy small like normal people!"

"Get them!" The creature darts forward. The shuffling sluggishness of earlier gone. Akamaru meets the creature half way and the two engage. Akamaru has the size advantage but the creatures icicles protrude even further out of its body to form a sharp icy armor. Akamaru is forced to back away. The creature punches the ground again and ice sprouts under Akamaru and encases his legs. The creature advances. Sasuke forms a one handed tiger seal, inhales and spits a bright flaming bullet that fires like a canon. The creature senses the threat far too late with only enough time to enlarge its icy armour before impact. Kiba hears the ice shatter and steam at the force of the impact that blows the creature clear across the canyon into a wall. The flames of the explosion morph into a dragon head that follows the creature ready to consume. The hunters dive out of the way with shouts of alarm. A scream cuts through them all however, a young boyish scream of pure terror that causes Sasuke's to redirect the dragon head into the sky where it disperses harmlessly.

There, in the crater where the creature had formed when it collided with the canyon face, was a tiny body shivering and covering its face, drowning in the rags that the creature had used as clothes. The hunters retreat. Sasuke makes his way to the quivering mess in the crater while Kiba breaks the ice pinning Akamaru. A face pokes out the rags and there is no mistake. It is a boy, barely a teenager: dark hair and young brash green eyes. The boy spots Sasuke approaching and backs away further into the crater with an aborted cry when he trips over the rags that no longer fit him. His skin is not as pale as the monster's but even from a distance Kiba can spot patches of glistening ice on the boy's skin.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Sasuke says. The boy cowers away from Sasuke as Kiba approaches. Akamaru shrinks down to a reasonable size but still growls at the boy. Kiba gives Akamaru a stern look.

 _He's just a boy. Stop scaring him._ Akamaru scoffs at Kiba but stops growling.

"Hey buddy," Kiba says as cheerfully as he can as he squats down to the same level as the boy. He guesses since he is the least threatening of the three he might as well try to calm the boy down. Kiba sniffs the surge of aggression and wild energy before the boy lunges forwar, skin paling and ice growing into plates over his body and an ice shard protruding out of his hand aimed at Kiba. The boy freezes mid-attack, orange irises and black scelera captured by something behind Kiba. The ice on his body recedes, color seeps back into his skin, and his eyes return to green. His body slackens and he slips to the ground. Kiba stands and steps back, briefly catching Sasuke's glowing red eyes fade back to dark. 

"What...what did you do to me?" The boy struggles to stand.

"Seriously, kid." Kiba mutters not bothering to respond to a smug Akamaru.

"He cannot control it." 

"I can control it!" Sasuke swings his sword lightning quick shocking both the boy and Kiba. The collar on the boy's neck falls onto the ground in a clean break.

"The fuck!" The boy jerks away from them again. Belatedly, the boy's hands jump to his throat feeling for any marks or gashes. It's obvious when the boy realizes the collar is not there. Green eyes widen then stare at Sasuke in shock. Slowly, the eyes fall to the collar now in two pieces on the ground. The boy kneels by the collar and one hand traces the edges of it. Everything else fades away for the boy. 

"It's off." Half aborted sobs rattle the tiny body. The boy reeks of an anxiety and stress that manages to still overpower the relief he must feel. The ugliness of the situation they found the boy in tears its ugly head. Kiba closes his briefly trying to settle his own emotions. Was this what Sasuke meant by private armies? He hoped not. When Kiba opens his eyes again he finds Sasuke has unclasped his cloak and offered it to the naked and shivering boy. The boy glares at them, eyeing Sasuke's cloak with plain distrust, while wiping away any traces of moisture from his face.

"What are you going to do to me?" 

"Take you and anyone else imprisoned here out of this frozen pit hopefully." Kiba answers giving Sasuke a significant look. That is what they were going to do right? The boy follows Kiba's gaze and settles on Sasuke as well. The kid's face is both challenging and earnestly hopeful.

"You are from Ryuichi aren't you?" Sasuke drapes the cloak over the boy with little resistance. But the boy absolutely refuses to have the cloak clasp done. The cloak could wrap around him twice maybe thrice. Warmth and a healthy glow floods the boy's cheeks.

"My,uh,my father was. We were supposed to go back there when..." They do not have to ask. Horror and grief play out on a young face. 

"What's your name?" Sasuke's question is gentle.

"K..Ka...you first." The kid looks away stubbornly.

"Uchiha Sasuke." The easy answer knocks whatever the kid was planning off kilter. It's clear the kid is trying to wiggle out of the question.

"Inuzuka Kiba and this is my buddy Akamaru."

"Where's your beast? They said you all had a beast." This kid was unbelievable!

"I believe you owe me a name." Kiba has very little experience with kids, he will not even come within ten feet of a genin team, much less ones as clearly traumatized as this one. Kiba seriously doubts Sasuke has any experience either. In general, Sasuke gives the impression of unrepentantly weaning himself off of the human experience. Curiously though, Sasuke seems unperturbed and even sounds amused which enrages the kid that is dead set on provoking a reaction.

"I don't owe you anything, cripple!" The empty sleeve of Sasuke's left arm hangs limply by his side. It is said with the naive vindictiveness of a child. The kid thinks he has struck gold with the way his green eyes scan Sasuke shrewdly.

"Oi, you brat! That cripple blew you apart with a single shot." Green and brown eyes move to him and Akamaru tilts his head at the outbursts. Kiba is not sure where the sudden fervor came from but he gives them a mullish look daring them to challenge his statement. 

"Come on Kiba, we still have work to do." Sasuke says turning away from the kid.

"Ha! So you're just going to leave?" The kid seems to think he has the high ground. 

"You aren't our prisoner. Stay, leave or come with us. What you do is up to you. The cloak won'tkeep you warm forever." Sasuke must be bluffing. If the kid really has no control of the monster he turns into, a massacre is bound to happen. That is, if the boy survives the cold of the Land of Snow and the other gangs that live here. But Kiba is forced to confront that he does not know Sasuke's goal here. Sasuke may not care. Kiba doubts it. 

"The caves. I need to get to the caves." The kid says quietly after a moment of deliberation chewing on his bottom lip.

"Your name?"

"Kaoru. Just Kaoru." 

"I can take you to the caves." The kid, Kaoru, nods. His shoulders slackens and he rolls back on his feet. Satisfied. Happy. For now. 

"What are you going to do at the hunter's place?"

"Try to figure out who hired them and probably burn the place down." Akamaru yowls an approval. Kaoru's eyes spark in interest and Kiba counts that as a win. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I enjoyed writing this chapter.


End file.
